Liam Byrne: I can today provide an update to the House on the progress of Sir John Chadwick's work in advising the Government on the establishment of an ex-gratia payment scheme for Equitable Life policyholders.
	Sir John published his first interim report on 18 August 2009. He has since received a range of representations on the questions he has raised, and is today publishing a second interim report, which sets out:
	The scope of the work that will be required following his revised terms of reference, which were issued on 27 November.
	The case for adopting a "flexible" approach to calculating policyholders' relative loss. Sir John considers that this approach is fairer, easier to calculate, and quicker to deliver than other potential approaches.
	The list of questions that he will need to address in his final advice.
	Sir John would welcome further representations and comments from all parties on the issues raised in his latest report by 29 January 2010.
	The Government are committed to establishing a fair payment scheme as quickly as possible. We expect Sir John to submit his final report in spring 2010, and will announce details of a payment scheme to follow, also in spring 2010.
	I will update the House further in due course.

Bridget Prentice: My noble friend, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Lord Bach, has made the following written ministerial statement.
	"Following a consultation process, the Government intend to introduce a number of reforms that aim to rebalance the legal aid budget to ensure that the £2.1 billion currently spent every year goes as far as possible in favour of civil help for those who need it most.
	The reforms are outlined in the Government's response to the consultation paper "Legal Aid: Funding Reforms", which the Ministry of Justice will be publishing later today. The reforms are intended to make better use of the criminal legal aid budget and include changes that rationalise payment structures.
	The reforms will:
	Contain the cost of legal aid representation at police stations by reducing police station fees in the most expensive and oversubscribed areas.
	Reform the current fee arrangements that remunerate litigators for preparation for committal hearings. Litigators will be paid a fixed fee for committals, which will be paid as part of the litigators graduated fee scheme.
	End the anomaly by which practitioners in criminal cases receive a fee for file reviews which does not apply in civil cases.
	It is estimated that approximately £23 million in savings will be made through the reforms to police station fees, changes to committal fees and the removal of the file review payments over the course of 2010-11.
	In addition to these reforms, the Ministry of Justice will issue a second consultation paper to explore reforms to advocates fees in the Crown court.
	Copies of the response to consultation and the consultation paper "Legal Aid: Reforming Advocates Graduated Fees" will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses, the Vote Office and the Printed Paper Office".

Angela Eagle: During the debate that followed the up-rating statement on 10 December 2009, in response to a question from my hon. Friend the Member for Walsall, North, (Mr. Winnick, I said:
	"we have raised the basic state pension above prices every year since 1998-99." [10 December 2009, Official Report, column 521].
	The correct answer is as follows:
	"Between 1997 and April 2010 pensioners will have benefited from above-inflation increases in the basic state pension, with pensioners better off by £10 or 12 per cent. in real terms in their basic state pension."
	I apologise to the House for the inadvertent error.